The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has released its 2005 Visitor Profile Study. The annual study has been conducted for 31consecutive years and details the trends, attitudes, behaviours and spending habits of Las Vegas visitors. According to the survey, Las VegasÁ largest audience is still derived from the baby boomer generation, but the number of Generation X visitors drawn to the destination is growing. In addition, visitors are spending more money.

The follow highlight excerpts from the 2005 Visitor Profile Study:

—Satisfaction remains high amongst visitors with 94 percent stating they were very satisfied with their trip to Las Vegas.

—Due to the growing number of dining and shopping options, visitors indicate they are spending more money when they come to Las Vegas. Notably, visitors are spending more on dining (US$248 in 2005 vs. US$238 in 2004) and shopping (US$137 in 2005 vs. US$124 in 2004).

Visitors were asked how they book their room reservations. Forty-five percent of the visitors said they called the hotel directly. Thirty-two percent booked via the Internet, 16 percent used a travel agent, four percent booked the hotel room in person and the remaining three percent cited other methods.

Las Vegas hosted a record-breaking 38.5 million visitors in 2005 with 39.1 million projected for 2006.

Several interesting destination statistics can be traced via the 2005 Visitor Profile Study vs. the LVCVA’s first study in 1975:

—In 1975, visitors spent US$174 on all non-gaming activities per trip. Today, that’s less than what visitors spend on dining alone.

—Thirty-one years ago, Las Vegas boasted 35,000 hotel and motel rooms. The destination now has 133,000.

—Visitors used to say gaming was their primary reason for visiting Las Vegas. In 1975, 40 percent said thatÁ?s why they came to the destination. In 2005, gaming accounts for only 5 percent of visitors primary purpose for coming to the city.

—Consistent with todayÁ?s statistics, in 1975, 95 percent said they were very satisfied with their trip to Las Vegas.

The report presents findings from 3, 600 personal interviews conducted throughout the destination from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005 and includes comparisons to results from the 2003 and 2004 Visitor Profile Studies.
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